Netflix adopts poison pill to stop Icahn

Company wants to protect itself from takeover

11:05 PM,
Nov. 5, 2012

Netflix announced it is moving to protect itself against hostile takeovers, less than a week after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed that he has accumulated a stake of nearly 10 percent in the online video company.

Written by

Cliff Edwards
Bloomberg News

Netflix Inc., the world's largest subscription video service, adopted a so-called poison pill to protect against a hostile takeover after billionaire investor Carl Icahn acquired an almost 10 percent stake in the company.

The stockholder rights plan, approved unanimously by Netflix's board on Friday, would be triggered if an "activist shareholder" acquired 10 percent of the stock, or an institutional investor bought 20 percent, Jonathan Friedland, a company spokesman, said.

The move is designed to make a hostile takeover too expensive and gives Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed ...